


Similarities

by RatMonarch



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Introspection, Paranoia, Pets, Short, V3 Backstories Are Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 12:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21849469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RatMonarch/pseuds/RatMonarch
Summary: As much as Ryoma hated to admit it, there were similarities between him and Peko Pekoyama.
Relationships: Hoshi Ryoma & Pekoyama Peko
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	Similarities

_‘Oh no, what did I do?_

That was the first and only thought going through Ryoma’s mind when he saw Peko Pekoyama of all people approaching him and his cat, Sora, her expression unreadable, which he imagined couldn’t be a good sign. 

He desperately racked his brain to try and think of anything he could’ve done in the past that would piss the Kuzuryuu family off. Had the mafia members he killed been connected to them? No, if that was the case, then that family would’ve used their connections to get him killed in prison long ago. 

Did he slight Fuyuhiko or his little sister, Natsumi? He couldn’t think of any way that was possible. He was in prison the majority of the time, and the very few times he was allowed in Hope's Peak Academy, he didn’t share any classes with them. So what could he have done to piss them off?

Maybe something bad happened to the Kuzuryuus' and someone pinned him as the orchestrator of the crime. It was certainly possible. He could see himself as a great scapegoat: he was not only a felon but someone who had a reputation for not liking the mafia or yakuza. He was the perfect person to blame for a slight on the Kuzuryuu family. 

He supposed in the end, whatever was the case didn’t matter. What _did_ matter was the fact that, for some reason, Peko was walking towards him and his cat right now and he had to think of something to do. Her footsteps were light and silent, like a predator stalking her prey. Ryoma’s heart pounded at the sight, and suddenly he wished he had his steel tennis balls and rackets at his disposal. There was a prison guard walking not too far behind him, but he didn’t even think a prison guard could match up to the speed and determination of Peko. 

He wanted to die, yes, but not violently like this, and he especially didn’t want to drag Sora down with him. The warden had been generous and allowed him to meet his cat because of his good behavior in prison and his status as a Hope's Peak Academy. He had decided to take this opportunity to walk Sora like he and his girlfriend used to, back when she was alive. But now, it seemed like he had unknowingly spelled him and his cat an early death sentence. 

Many people were more afraid of Fuyuhiko than they were of Peko. After all, he was the head honcho and had an incredibly short temper. However, Ryoma was not one of those people. It was _Peko_ who scared the absolute shit out of him. Fuyuhiko, as much of a punk as he was, was at the very least a _human being_. Human beings could be reasoned with. He could not as generously give that title to Peko. The girl wasn’t a human being, not really. Human beings had desires and thoughts of their own. Peko, as far as he could tell, had none of those. Her only desires were that of her masters’, and she wouldn’t stop until either their desires were met or she was dead. She was a tool, plain and simple, and that was both sad and terrifying. 

And now, if he didn’t react fast, that tool might severely hurt him and his cat under orders.

He glanced at Sora, who seemed unaware currently of the danger they were in. Should he let go of the leash and give him the opportunity to run away? He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep well at night if his cat got killed in front of him. Sora was the only loved one he had left. Ryoma himself may deserve to die, but his cat certainly didn’t. He tried to quickly weigh his options. Cats, especially domesticated cats, didn’t live great lives outdoors, but surely his cat would choose a harder life over death, right? 

He was about to drop the leash when all of a sudden, Peko was in front of him. He flinched. 

“Hello,” she greeted with a polite dip of her head. 

He dropped the leash but Peko was swift. Right before Sora could even realize his freedom, she lunged forward and grabbed the leash before it even fell to the ground. Ryoma quickly took a step in front of his cat and said, “Listen, you can hurt me all you want, but please don’t lay a hand on my cat.” 

“What? Hurt you?” Peko said with a slow blink, confusion clear in her voice. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “What do you mean hurt you?”

She pushed the handle of the leash back into his hands, which caused him to flinch again, but he grabbed it. Ryoma was admittedly confused himself now. Was this a trick? Peko certainly sounded and looked puzzled by what he said. She wasn’t reaching for her sword either, which was a good sign. But was this a way of lulling him into a false sense of security so he would let his guard down? He remained wary just in case.

Feeling awkward now though, Ryoma rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and decided to deflect by saying, “I just never see you walking around without Kuzuryuu by your side, so I figured it couldn’t be good for me that he’s not here. No offense, but you have sort of a reputation.”

Peko actually looked affronted for a moment, before her face returned to one of neutrality. Crossing her arms, she coldly said, “Young Master is away at a class. I couldn’t come along, unfortunately. Also shouldn’t I be asking you not to hurt _me_? You have a reputation for being a killer after all.” 

Part of Ryoma felt tempted to point out that she had no doubt killed before, probably for less justifiable reasons, but decided against it. He wasn’t exactly looking to pick a fight with Peko. So, shrugging his shoulders, he diplomatically said, “Fiar enough.” Then offering his free hand, he said, “Let’s make a deal. You don’t kill me, I won’t kill you. Sound fair?”

He had meant it to be a light-hearted joke and half-apology, but Peko’s face was deadly serious as she shook his hand, her grip tight. 

Once they let go of their handshake, Ryoma felt at least somewhat comforted he wasn’t about to be eviscerated in the next few moments. Looking at her, he gruffly asked, “So what’d you come all the way here for?”

All of a sudden, Peko’s calm and mysterious demeanor cracked a bit as a flush colored her cheeks, her blood-red eyes suddenly darting to the side. She mumbled something under breath, her voice so low that Ryoma was pretty sure only dogs could’ve heard what she said. 

“I am sorry. I didn’t quite hear that. What did you say?” Ryoma asked. 

A look of frustration flickered through Peko’s features and her cheeks colored seven more. Louder though, she said, “Can… can I pet your cat?”

Ryoma blinked. Had he actually heard that right? He wasn’t sure. “Pardon?”

Now Peko just looked annoyed, but she maintained her politeness. “May I please pet your cat?”

Out of all the things Ryoma had expected her to come up to him for, this was the furthest from his mind. It was so innocuous… it didn’t match a yakuza bodyguard and hitwoman. But seeing no real reason to deny her, he nodded and said, “Uh, sure.” 

He watched Peko kneel down and stretch her hand out towards Sora. Sora flinched back at her attempt, his ears flattened, his blue eyes suspicious. For a moment, Ryoma wondered if his cat was going to scratch her. His cat never usually was this mistrustful of strangers. He was beginning to wonder if those rumors about animals being able to sense evil intention were true and if he should be pulling his cat away. But eventually, after leaning his neck to tentatively sniff her hand, his cat cautiously touched her hand with his head and allowed her to scratch at his head and behind his ears. Before they both knew it, Sora was purring like a motor. 

“He’s so cute,” Peko breathed in wonder and Ryoma was suddenly a bit taken aback by how gentle and serene she looked as she stroked her fingers through his cat’s dusky blue fur. It differed greatly from the usually intense and serious expression she had on her face. Looking up at him with the gentle expression on her face, she asked, “He’s a Russian blue, correct?”

Ryoma nodded dumbly, his throat too dry to say anything. When she looked at him so innocently like that, it reminded him of his old girlfriend and how she used to look whenever she was petting Sora as well. 

Suddenly, Ryoma couldn’t help but find it all unfair. A girl like this shouldn’t be a weapon of a yakuza group. She should be doing something normal with her life, being her own person, just like his girlfriend and family deserved to be alive and not slaughtered like an animals. But the yakuza took that opportunity away from both of them. Now here they were, a tool and a prisoner… with no family between any of them. 

“Oi, Peko,” he said. 

Peko looked up from petting and cooing at his cat, her expression hardening back into one of steely resolve, “Yes?”

“Do… do you ever wish things could’ve been different?”

Peko blinked a couple of times, before returning her gaze towards Sora, as if to avoid his own. “I apologize, I don’t know what you mean.”

Ryoma couldn’t tell if she meant that or not. Perhaps she did. Perhaps she couldn’t imagine a life anything outside the one she had. She might’ve never imagined having one. Maybe, in her own way, she found a way to enjoy the one she had. After all, what else did she have?

Or maybe she was lying and trying to avoid thinking about it, in fear it would betray her masters. 

Either way, he supposed it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t change anything.

“Never mind then,” he said with a shrug, suddenly wishing he had a cigarette on him.

**Author's Note:**

> I am not sure how I feel about this story. I like aspects of it, I don't like others of it. But this came about because I wanted to write something for both Ryoma and Peko, who I think are both criminally underrated in the fandom, but also who I think have a lot of similarities to one another. I hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> As always, critique is appreciated. 
> 
> Have a great day!


End file.
